Chile pushes for international agreement in defense of the high seas: “It’s time to act”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The ocean’s impact on Chile, with its 6,435 kilometers of coastline, keeps alive the country’s push for the international treaty in defense of marine biodiversity in the high seas, whose negotiations could culminate next year.

“It is time to act,” said Ambassador Waldemar Coutts, director of environment and ocean affairs at the Chilean Foreign Ministry, who is working to ensure that the country complies with its environmental and conservation commitments in different international forums.

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“I am convinced that an agreement of these characteristics is not only important for Chile and the Latin American region, but also the world, since it is common knowledge how important the ocean is for the survival of humanity, and this is what we are playing for; if we do not understand that we no longer have time to continue discussing,” he explained.

The high seas (a term that corresponds to ocean areas that are not under the jurisdiction of any state) lie outside the exclusive economic zones of countries and cover almost two-thirds (64%) of the world’s oceans. Currently, only about 1% of these waters are protected, according to data from NGO The Pew Charitable Trusts.

A high seas treaty to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions (BBNJ) dates back to a 2004 UN General Assembly. Between 2018 and 2019, three intergovernmental conferences took place to reach a final agreement.

FINAL STAGE OF NEGOTIATIONS?

There is a working draft of the treaty text, but the pandemic postponed the meeting in 2020 and this year, so the fourth meeting (which is expected to be the last) is expected to be held in early 2022.

“Because of the content and scope of the agreement, it was and remains difficult for it to be adopted in four conferences. We must keep in mind that the subject matters contained in the package of agreements in this negotiation alone could generate four agreements,” Coutts said.

“I am referring to area-based management tools, marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessment, and capacity building and transfer of marine technology. However, we must maintain political momentum, and in this regard, NGOs and civil society are doing important work to support the negotiations,” he added.

The ambassador was emphatic in assuring that it is necessary to achieve a treaty that allows for the materialization of “a true balance between conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, and that guarantees a healthy ocean for the future.”

“The current times demand modern and effective treaties, with functional institutional structures adjusted to the climate and environmental urgency. Above all, its compliance with responsibility is fundamental because we need a treaty that accounts for its implementation by the States that are part of it,” he explained.

He stressed the importance of having a technical compliance committee, an appropriate global structure, a conference of the parties, a functional secretariat, and scientific committees. “We need a treaty whose provisions are applied as soon as it enters into force,” he emphasized.

PROTECTION OF 30% OF THE LAND AND SEA AREA

Protection of the high seas is also seen as critical to achieving the goals of protecting at least 30% of the planet’s land and sea area by 2030 through the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, given that only 1% of the high seas are protected, it would be virtually impossible to achieve the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans without including the high seas.

Coutts said that for Chile, there is a “clear link” between the future high seas treaty to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions and the 30% protection target by 2030.

Chile is committed to adopting the goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030, but considering that the negotiation of BBNJ is fundamental to be able to establish a network of comprehensive, cross-sectoral, fully and highly protected marine areas in the high seas, which will make it possible to achieve that protection goal,” he said.